Today was our first day of Writer’s Fortnight, and the guest speaker was renowned ESPN speaker and presenter Steve Dawson. He ran over what he defined as the “5 Maxims for a Great Interview”; Ask open-ended questions, set the answer free (don’t add restrictions to what they can say), don’t interrupt, be a “single shooter” (ask one question at a time), and make sure to really listen to the answers. He brought up a lot of points that relate to his life story, one of the most notable ones talking about his relationship with his job. A long-time sports ultrafan, he described it as a “hobby become a job”, and said that, while his role as a sports presenter and commentator was tough, he enjoyed every second of it. Another very interesting point he brought up was the relationship he has between his passions and his work; though he loves the job, he explicitly stated that much of what he reports on and where he travels for work is decided by senior members of the ESPN team. An extra point he brings up, though not technically among the 5 Maxims, is “Don’t be a fanboy”. He strongly believes that to truly have a fruitful and meaningful interview, the interviewed individual and the interviewer must both be “at the same level”.